The announcement of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled for Monday 4 September at 4pm, is a unique opportunity for the joint members of the MIA and MA, who are qualified voters (current financial members of the MIA) to confer a proxy vote in accordance with clause 12.4 of the MIA constitution. 

Vote-NO-to-resolution-1-MIA.pdf (proxy form)

12.4 A Voting Member may appoint another person as their proxy to attend and vote for the Voting Member at any general meeting by: a) signing an instrument appointing a proxy in the form prescribed by the Board in the Rules or otherwise in a form complying with the Act; and b) depositing the instrument appointing the proxy, or sending it by such means as the Board prescribes, at or to the Office or other place specified for that purpose in the notice of meeting, no later than the deadline specified in the notice. 

I would be pleased to accept your proxy votes to vote down the proposed amendments to the MIA constitution which would entrench the current and future Board members. 

Vote-NO-to-resolution-1-MIA.pdf (proxy form)

The current proposal was also the subject of an EGM some years ago and at that time Angela Chan was the President of the MIA. 

The proposal was withdrawn as soon as it became evident that the membership of the MIA were not prepared to give up their annual right of review of the performance of the Board. 

I am firmly of the opinion that unless a Board is responsive to the needs of the membership and is prepared to act in the best interests of the members and to protect the rights of members then it has no place at the Board table. 

It is for the membership to determine who best represents their interests. 

It is my recommendation that you vote down this proposal. 

Given the relatively short notice of the EGM it will be necessary to have on hand all of the proxies no later than 3pm on Friday 1 September 2017 and a scanned copy of the Proxy can be scanned and emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

I would like to put the MIA Board on Notice about a number of key changes that they might consider implementing after amending the constitution at some future stage. 

Reform Agenda 

  1. 1.      Fusion of MIA and MA
  2. 2.      Vesting of membership approvals in the membership rather than the Board, with a specific provision wherein any person who is an RMA or an exempt person can apply for membership and in the event of a seconding (20 members in good standing) of that membership application that the individual be admitted as a member upon payment of membership fees.
  3. 3.      The use of plebiscites to determine the wishes of the membership in relation to membership related issues including membership fees and all items of expenditure over $50K in relation to the employment of contractors and other commercial services where 3 tenders have not been sought.
  4. 4.      To provide for a mechanism wherein an EGM may be proposed by 100 current financial  voting members and then the proposal for the EGM is taken out of the hands of the President and then put to a plebiscite which is binding on the Board. Upon receipt of the EGM proposal in proper form a plebiscite is conducted within 28 days on the proposal.
  5. 5.      The proposal that where a sitting board member is unable to attend or resigns that the casual vacancy be put to the members in an election in the state where the vacancy occurs and a new appointee is then a member of the board and absent that appointment the work of the Board is suspended. (This avoids delay or procrastination)
  6. 6.      The proposal that the Board survey its membership to determine what issues of concern about the state of the organisation and its management exist amongst the membership and to then consolidate and report on that information.
  7. 7.      That any future appointments of the CEO position be the subject of a transparent recruitment process wherein applicants for the position and their resume is put before the Board after canvassing by an appointed recruitment agency, and that the members be given the opportunity of voting for the candidate. (This is to address a problem that arose in the most recent round of recruitment where MA founder, Liana Allan was an interviewed candidate for the CEO position, and offered to occupy the CEO position for a salary markedly lower than her current salary, with a view to fusing the two peak bodies.)
  8. 8.      That all remuneration packages for all employees of the MIA, including the Board be identified and disclosed in the annual report.
  9. 9.      That all meetings with the Minister, Assistant Minister and DIBP by members of the Board or employees of the MIA be minuted and those minutes be distributed in a newsletter to the membership within 14 days of the meeting. 

Below is the pre-filled proxy form (click on link):

Vote-NO-to-resolution-1-MIA.pdf (proxy form)

I would ask you to consider and then complete and sign and then scan and email your proxy to hThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  I will ensure that your proxy is sent on time and has been checked for validity before it is sent in. This will be the 'vote no' proxy co-ordination email inbox.   It is important that all proxies are accounted for.

I will personally attend the MIA EGM on 4 September at 4pm at the said location, with copies of the proxies you send to me to ensure that your wishes are taken into account.  

If you have any questions please email me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .